Our Love Cannot Be Broken
by YuriFan300
Summary: After dating for 4 years, Eris decides to take Shizuku overseas to London to visit her parents. However, as soon as they get there, Eris's parents already has plans for her: an arranged marriage with her older cousin, Kent.
1. A Promise

**Our Love Cannot Be Broken**

**Pairing: Eris x Shizuku**

**Genre: Romance/Drama**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sono Hanabira/A Kiss for the Petals or any of its characters.**

It's a cold morning out in the Kirishima household. Not that it's super cold, but on the chilly side since it's the middle of summer. The sun is partly shining through the clouds covering the blue sky and light winds were being lightly blown in the east. Many people of Tokyo were busy in the streets, either shopping or walking with their friends or family.

But one morning, 24-year-old Eris Shitogi, who is sleeping soundly in her lover's room, awoke with the sun shining brightly upon her. She then looks over to another girl who is sleeping next to her, also sleeping soundly. Lying next to her is her fiancé, Shizuku Kirishima, the girl she fell in love with back in third year when they were in St. Michael's Girl's Academy. And after 4 years of attending St. Michael's Junior College, they finally graduated and continue to date for the next few months.

Eris smiles at her lover, watching her sleep peacefully. "Shizuku," she whispers.

"Mm . . . Erisu . . ." The raven-haired girl mumbles as she shuffles for a bit. She then turns over to notice her girlfriend watching over her with lovestruck eyes.

"Good morning, Shizuku." She greets.

"G-good morning to you, too, Erisu."

"How did you sleep?"

"I slept fine, thanks. How about you, Erisu?"

Eris closes her eyes. "Well, I had a wonderful dream. It's about us, Shizuku. We were having a great life together, got married and possibly, had children of our own."

The raven-haired girl is at a loss for words as she is moved by this story. "Erisu . . ."

"Oh, what a good life we had in my dream. I wish we could make it happen, though."

"Well, it takes some time, Erisu. And someday . . . I would like to have a family, too."

"You think so?" Eris is surprised by Shizuku's words.

"Y-yes."

"SHIZUKUUUUUUUU~" Eris suddenly plunges onto her lover's chest, happy to hear such things from her.

"E-Erisu!" Taken aback by this sudden action, Shizuku backs away a little while blushing like crazy. "D-don't you know the meaning of _personal space_?"

"Hehe . . . I can't help it," Eris teases as she wraps her arms around Shizuku once more. "Mmmmmm . . . How nice and warm you are."

"S-stop it, Erisu! I mean it!"

"I'm not letting you go, Shizuku. Hugging you like this makes me very happy."

Shizuku continues to blush while trying to hide it. How could she resist her? Looking down at her lover, she could tell that Eris is enjoying her moment in her chest.

"Hey, Shizuku?" Eris whispers.

"Yes, Erisu?"

"Do you love me?"

"Wh-what?" Shizuku is caught off guard by that question and began blushing again.

This time Eris sits up and caresses Shizuku's soft cheek. "I said do you love me?"

The black haired girl slightly turns her head away. " I-I do."

"Then, can you please say 'I love you'?"

"Uh . . ." This makes Shizuku blush even more and finds it much more difficult to express her true feelings.

"Please, Shizuku? For me?" Eris pleads.

"O-okay, I got it. Uh . . . I . . . I love you . . . Erisu."

"I can't hear you~!" Eris teases.

Shizuku lets out a heavy sigh. "Gosh, alright already! I love you, Erisu! Will that do!?"

"Hehe," Eris giggles. "I knew you had it in you somewhere." She lightly kisses her girlfriend on the cheek, "I love you, too, Shizuku." She then pulls away and decides to change the subject. "Say, do you still have the ring I gave you?"

Shizuku holds up her hand to show her as proof. "Yep. And it's still on my finger."

A few years ago Eris proposed to Shizuku when Shizuku 's parents were coming home. They didn't know about it until Eris greeted and told them about it. Soon after, they gladly accepted relationship and everything was okay. After the proposal, they decided to wait a few years or so to get married. Right now, they are just having fun being girlfriends.

"Hey, Shizuku," Eris whispers.

As Shizuku is about to say something, she gets interrupted with Eris planting her lips against hers. It is surprising at first, but Shizuku finally returns the warming kiss. It only lasted a few minutes before they parted lips to catch their breath and stare at each other.

"Shizuku . . ."

"Erisu . . ."

They continue to stare lovingly at each other until Eris speaks up.

"Shizuku?"

"Yes, Erisu?"

"Can you promise me something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

At that moment, Eris takes Shizuku's hands in her own, wearing serious expression. "Let's promise to stay together forever, now that we're engaged. Can you promise that?"

Shizuku smiles. "Of course, Erisu. We will definitely be together forever."

Eris caresses her cheek. "That's good. Because I only have eyes for you, you know?"

"Same here."

And so, the two share a warm, yet soothing kiss once again.

**A/N: Probably not the best first chapter, but I tried. Anyway, feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review.**


	2. Plans

**Chapter 2**

**Plans**

Later that day, Eris and Shizuku are finished eating breakfast and is now relaxing in the living room. While watching television, Eris sits next to her fiancé with an arm around her. Shizuku blushes, but smiles at her anyway. When the show goes to commercial break, Eris is the first to speak up.

"Hey, Shizuku?"

"Yes, Erisu?"

"After we're married, what do you think will happen?"

"Well, like you mentioned earlier, we'll probably try having a family together and have a good life together. So, it most likely happen to us . . . at lest that's what I would think."

Eris stretches her arms. "Ah . . . I'm glad we've gotten through college. That way, we can have all the time we want together." She smirks at her lover. "Right, Shizuku?"

"Uh . . . r-right."

Eris giggles and stands up. "Well then, I'll go get some snack so we can watch the rest of the show."

"Alright."

With that, Eris leaves the room while Shizuku watches more commercials. In the kitchen, the tall blonde looks around for some chips and a bowl to put in. She finds the chips in the cabinet above her and a plastic bowl below it. Once she starts pouring the chips in, a picture suddenly catches her eye. It's a picture of her and Shizuku when they were going on New Years together. Eris was wearing a blue kimono while Shizuku was wearing a black Gothic-lolita dress Eris picked out for her. It was the most memorable moment they had in their life.

There's another when they were just starting college. They looked so great in that picture, especially in their new uniforms. Eris smiles and giggles softly at those two pictures. She can't believe Shizuku had kept them in the kitchen the whole time. With that in mind, she takes the chips back to the living room, just in time to watch the rest of the show.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Eris says as she places the bowl between them to share.

"Oh, no problem, Erisu." She suddenly feels arms wrap around her waist and looks down to notice her girlfriend hugging her. "Um. . . Erisu?"

"Ah . . . I just love you, Shizuku. You're my one and only lover in the world."

Shizuku can't help but smile at this and soon returns the hug. "Thanks, Erisu. I can say the same with you."

* * *

Early the next morning, Eris wakes up and gets out of bed. She decides to have a walk outside to get some fresh air while she lets Shizuku sleep in. After quickly getting dressed, she leaves the house and begins her peaceful walk. Looking up at the beautiful sky, she smiles and says, "What a beautiful morning!"

She puts her finger on her chin as she tries to think of something to spend during that time. They could always have breakfast together at a nearby restaurant. That would work. Then, maybe they could walk in the park together or go shopping. Or maybe go to an observatory downtown and enjoy looking at the stars. Either way, Eris knows that both of them will enjoy it.

"But . . . those we already did for the past 4 years. There has to be something special. Something that she and I never did at all."

She keeps on walking until she ends up in the streets. Looking around, she catches a picture frame store with a picture of Big Ben in the window. Gazing at the picture, it finally hits her.

"That's it! Why didn't I think of that all along!?"

* * *

"Hm? Travel overseas?"

"Yes! I want to take you to London with me!"

Shizuku raises an eyebrow. "But . . . I've never been there before."

"Exactly! That's why I want to take you there, to experience a new country, and have a special time together as a couple!"

"Um . . . I don't know. I'm not very familiar with foreigners."

Eris just giggles. "Come on, it will be fun! Just you and me, okay?"

Her lover keeps on staring at the ground, which makes Eris feel a little worried. She feels a little bad that she just threw that at her without thinking about the consequences. But despite all that, Eris really wants her lover to travel to her own country. Plus, she might like it there.

"Hey," she says, softly, putting a hand on her lover's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll definitely be there for you if you have any trouble. Besides, I also want you to meet my parents."

"Your parents?"

"Mm-hmm. Since I met yours, I think it's high time you meet mine. So, what do you say? Are you willing?"

Shizuku hesitates for a bit as she fidgets with her fingers while nervously sliding her foot back and forth about a couple inches. Traveling overseas won't hurt, would it? For her, she has been in Japan all her life and she's eager to travel somewhere special for a change. Maybe Eris is right. There might be something she might like once she's in London and plus she will spend her vacation with her beloved.

"O-okay, I'll go." Shizuku says, quietly.

"Hooray!" Eris says cheerfully, practically jumping up in excitement. "Thank you so much, Shizuku! You're the best!" She launches herself at her lover, giving her a tight squeeze.

"E-Erisu!" Shizuku screams, instantly blushing like crazy. "D-don't do that! It's embarrassing!"

"Nothing's embarrassing, silly! I was just thanking you for giving me this opportunity to take you to my place for a change~!"

Eris keeps on squeezing her lover until she lets go. She then grabs Shizuku by the wrist and runs over to Shizuku's room.

"W-wait, Erisu!" She cries while trembling with fear. "Wh-what in the world are you doing?"

"Why, I'm gonna pick some clothes out for you! You can't go out in a kimono, you know?"

"N-no, it's fine. I can dress myself."

"Nope! You need to look nice for the trip." She picks out one outfit from Shizuku's closet. "Besides, we did plenty of shopping a few weeks ago, so it's useless to pick out your clothing by yourself."

"U-um . . . !"

"Now then, time to change~!"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"

* * *

**A/N: Second chapter finished! It took a few hours to come up with this chapter. Oh, and yes, this story will mainly focus on Eris since most of you are fond of her, both physically and mentally. To be honest, I like her, too. She's really cute and funny. :D**

**Anyway, feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review! ;)**


	3. London

**Chapter 3**

**London**

At the airport, Eris and Shizuku were handed their boarding passes and just finished going through security. Shizuku sighs as she walks along side with her fiancé. After about several attempts of trying different outfits they bought from the store, she finally picks a beautiful blue dress with pink flowers printed on it and black high-heeled boots to go with it. As for Eris, she is wearing a black dress with high-heels.

While they are walking to their gate, people from left and right are checking out Eris. Most of the guys were blowing kisses at her and going, "Whoa! She'a smoking hot!" Eris would then kindly thank them in return while Shizuku is fuming with jealously. _Why is everyone still all over her? _she thinks.

"Shizuku?"

"Ah! Huh?" The raven-haired girl looks up at her lover, snapping out of her thoughts.

"Are you okay?"

"Me? I'm fine, don't worry." She tries to smile at her lover, but Eris could tell something is wrong and slowly approaches her.

"Shizuku, you can tell me. You don't have to hide it from me. "

The raven-haired girl slightly looks away while having a light blush on her face. "It's just that . . . are you trying to show off your appearance just so that people can look at you?"

Eris shakes her head. "I didn't do that on purpose. Besides, I think you're beautiful, too."

Shizuku just nods as a thank you and keeps on walking beside her lover. She's excited and nervous at the same time from traveling to Eris's hometown. She wonders if she's able to get along with the blonde's parents and other people in London.

* * *

After about several hours of flying, they finally reach their destination, and Eris leads Shizuku to the limo driver she had reserved for them. Once she spots him at baggage claim, the two follow the driver to his car, pack their luggage and get in. Shortly after, they are on their way to Eris's home.

Once on the road, Eris kindly shows Shizuku all the buildings, stores and even Big Ben that they had just passed. Shizuku' eyes widen in amazement as she enjoys the wonderful view of London.

"Erisu," she says. "This is . . . wonderful! I never thought London would look this pretty!"

"Didn't I tell you?" Eris teases.

Shizuku keeps staring out the window to view more. They pass an amusement park and a castle and some more cool buildings. She has to admit: this is a very cool experience for her and is very excited about meeting Eris's parents. She's liking it more and more.

"So, Erisu," she says. "Where is your house again?"

"It's just a few more blocks," Eris replies. "You're gonna love my house once you see it."

"Really?"

"Absolutely." Eris winks at her.

After about 15 minutes of the ride, they finally make it to Eris's home. It's colored in mostly white with gold at the sides and black for the roof. There is a huge garden in the back, a fountain in the middle of the drive way and 5 garages. Most importantly, the house is almost like a mansion, only smaller. Shizuku's eyes widen in amazement. She never knew Eris would own such a place, but then again, she's never been to London before.

The limo passes through the gates and turns to a driveway, shaped in a half-circle. Once it reaches the front entrance, Eris pays the limo driver, help Shizuku get all their luggage and make their way to the front door.

Shizuku stops and shyly looks down at the ground as she mutters, "Um . . . Erisu?"

"Yes, Shizuku?"

"I'm a little nervous to face your parents. What would happen if they find out our relationship?"

Eris gives her fiancé a reassuring smile. "Silly, that'a why we keep it a secret. We'll just say that we're best friends. Sound good?"

"Yes, that sounds way better."

"Goodie." With that, Eris rings the doorbell and waits for an answer.

Just then, the door swings open and a woman with medium length blonde hair appears before them.

"Yes? What can- Eris?"

"Hi, Mom," Eris greets with a smile. "Long time no see."

"Oh, Eris! It's so nice to see you! I haven't seen you in like, forever! How have you been?"

"I'm fine, thanks. My friend and I finished college, so I decided to travel all this way to visit you."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Eris's mother turns to the raven-haired girl. "And who might you be?"

"U-um, my name is Shizuku Kirishima. I-it's very nice to meet you."

Eris giggles. "My friend is a bit shy, but I told her that there's nothing to worry about."

Eris's mother nods. "So, this is the girl you've been telling me about?"

"Yes."

The woman turns to Shizuku. "Well then, it's nice to meet you, Shizuku. My name is Harriet Shitogi. I hope both of us can get along."

"S-same here!" Without thinking, she immediately bows to Harriet.

Both she and Eris laugh.

"Wow!" Harriet says. "She's already looking adorable."

"Isn't she?" Eris agrees.

"Ahahaha," Shizuku says nervously. "But I'm really not that cute."

"What are you talking about? Of course you're cute!" Eris protests, instantly petting Shizkuku's head.

"Erisu!"

Harriet smiles at the both of them. "You two seem to get along well."

"We sure do," Eris nods in agreement. "Right, Shizuku?"

"U-um . . . well . . . I guess." She mutters the last part while having a slight blush on her face. "Anyways, can we go in please? I want to see what it's like inside."

"Of course!" Harriet says, excitedly. "What are you waiting for? Come in! Come in!"

The two proceed through the door and Harriet closes it behind them. Shizuku looks around as Harriet gives her a tour. She sees most of the stuff made of gold or silver. There's an amazing chandelier on top of where the entrance is and a great flight of stairs that is about 2 stories high. She then observes all the rooms around her, like there's multiple bathrooms on each floor, a movie theater and an arcade down in the basement, and a bar at the same floor.

At the top floor, there are only bedrooms and multiple bathrooms. There wasn't much to look there, but Shizuku seems pretty interested. Lastly, in the middle floor, there's the living room, containing a big flat screen TV, shelves full of DVDs and videos and even a few books down below. Then, they come to the kitchen, which has the usual kitchen tools and technology. They even have a grill outside if they want to have a barbecue.

When the tour is done, Harriet turns to Shizuku."Well, how do you like it?"

"I love it!" Shizuku replies happily. "Thank you for showing me around!"

"No problem. If any of you ever need anything, feel free to ask me any time."

"I will. Thanks again."

Suddenly, the three hear some footsteps coming from the stairs. Eris looks up to notice her Japanese father coming down. He has short black hair and is well dressed in a black suit.

"What's going on?" he asks.

"Oh, our daughter has come back with a friend of hers," Harriet replies.

Eris's father smiles. "Oh, that's wonderful." He approaches the raven-haired girl. "And what's your name, miss?"

"Um . . . I'm Shizuku Kirishima, Erisu's classmate from St. Michael's." She bows to him. "A-and it's very nice to meet you."

"Same to you, Miss Kirishima," the father says as he bows back to her. "My name is Akito Shitogi, Eris's father. It was nice of you to come to visit."

Shizuku only nods with a smile.

"Hey, since we're all here," Harriet says. "Why don't we enjoy ourselves with a nice cup of tea in the living room!"

"Sounds good to me," Eris says.

"I'm up for it," Shizuku adds.

"Me too," Akito says.

"Excellent! Well then, let's go!"

* * *

After about a few minutes to get settled in, Eris tells her parents about how she went through St. Michael's with Shizuku helping her out, then entering college together and then finally graduating and deciding to come here for a visit. Eris's parents are amazed by this story.

"That's so nice of you to give Eris a little tour of the school when she first transferred," Harriet says, taking a sip of her tea.

Shizuku blushes as she fiddles with the hem of her skirt. "Oh . . . thank you."

"Shizuku's the best!" Eris says happily. "We practically almost do everything together. One time both of us went to a zoo and just enjoyed our time with the cute animals!"

"Wow," Akito says. "That sounds like fun."

"We really didn't do much, though since we arrived about an hour before it closed," Shizuku points out.

"Yes, but on the bright side, we had a very fun time!" Eris says. She turns back to her parents. "Oh, and there's another time when I didn't have a lunch that day because I overslept and Shizuku was kind enough to share her lunch with me! That was the nicest things she did for me!"

Shizuku lightly blushes, but turns away to hide it. "Well, I-I just wanted to help you, that's all."

"What a nice girl, Miss Kirishima!" Harriet says, cheerfully. "I'm glad Eris made a great friend like you!"

"T-thanks."

There is silence for a moment while everyone is enjoying their tea until Eris's father speaks up.

"So, Eris, now that you've finished college, your mother and I were discussing some things," Akito says.

"What kind of things?" Eris questions, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, since your growing up and all, we figured we would want you to marry someone. Besides, we would love you to have a boyfriend, get married and have a family, so we had called someone to do that."

"And . . . who would that be?"

"Your older cousin, Kent Skyler."

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I know this sounds bad, but that's the only conflict I can come up with. And I know a little on how people have to deal with arranged marriages, so if you don't like it, I apologize.**

**Anyways, feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review. ;)**


	4. Decisions

**Chapter 4**

**Decisions**

Eris's eyes widen in shock. "W-wait, what?"

"Yes," Akito says. "I know he might not be the best choice, but he's a good man. Besides, you haven't seen him in a while, right?"

Eris slowly nods and glances at Shizuku. The raven-haired girl could only look at her, not knowing what is going on.

"But, why didn't you tell me about this?" Eris says. "I would've gladly picked out a guy myself."

Harriet looks at her daughter with sympathetic eyes. "I understand that it upsets you, Eris, but it's for the best. Your father's only trying to look out for you so that no guy would harm you."

"Yes, Mom." Eris has no choice to accept it since her mother's got a point. But how will she handle it when she's already engaged with Shizuku?

Akito nods in agreement. "All right, then. Your cousin should be arriving shortly, so make sure you two get along with him, got it?"

"Yes, Father."

"Yes, sir," Shizuku says softly. She then turns to the blonde. "Um . . . Erisu? Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Oh, sure," Eris replies as she stands up from the couch. "Please excuse us."

While both of her parents nod, Eris and Shizuku exit the living room.

* * *

Shizuku is walking aimlessly through the house until she goes through the entrance and is now outside, walking towards the fountain.

"Shizuku!" Eris calls as she manages to catch up with her lover.

The raven-haired girl stops immediately and just stares at the water with her home-cut bangs covering her facial expression. Eris reaches a hand towards her when Shizuku finally speaks up.

"How long?" she mutters.

"Eh?"

"How long have you known him and why didn't I know about this?"

It is clear that Shizuku is affected by the whole "arranged marriage" thing, but Eris didn't want to make things worse between them.

"I'm sorry, but I had no idea that would really happen," the blonde tries to explain. "And to answer your first question, I've known him since we were kids."

Shizuku flinches at this statement. "I-I see."

"Kent used to come over almost every day just to play with me. We would play games, go to fun places together and even sleepover at each other's houses. Until that one day, Kent had to move to a new town due to his father finding a new job, so we . . . promised each other that we'd keep in touch. But . . . nothing really happened after that."

Shizuku starts sniffling, like she's on the verge of crying. "So, now what? Do you not love me anymore now that this Kent guy is marrying you?"

"No, no. Please understand, Shizuku." Eris puts a hand on her lover's shoulder. "Even if we known each other from the past, that doesn't change the fact that I still love you. You're my only fiancé."

Shizuku wipes some of the tears that were trying to come out and slightly turns to Eris. "How can you be so sure? I mean, what if you fall for him?"

"That will never happen," Eris assures her with seriousness in her voice. "Because since I transferred to St. Michael's and laid eyes on you, my thoughts were on nothing but you." She caresses her cheek and leans in towards her. "I don't care what anyone thinks. You're the one I love and nothing could change that." She then gently kisses her on the forehead. "See?"

Shizuku slowly nods, but is still not convinced about what Eris said. Somewhere in her heart is starting to break because of what is going on right now. How can she handle this when Eris's cousin is getting in the way? Frowning, she gently pushes Eris away and turns her back toward her.

"Sh-Shizuku?"

"I'll give you some time . . . to decide whether or not you love me," the raven-haired girl says. "Obviously, you have to make a choice, Erisu. It's either me or Kent?"

Eris could say nothing as she just stares at her lover's back. She does have a point there. Since she's already in love with Shizuku, she knew she would definitely pick her. But now that Kent is involved, how can she choose? This is going to be a lot more difficult than she thought,

"I'll try to work things out with Kent," Eris says. "Maybe he'll understand."

Shizuku says nothing as she just nods.

"But remember, Shizuku, I will still love you."

The raven-haired girl nods again and just walks away, back to the house. Eris's expression changes into sadness and disappointment. Why did her father have to have an arranged marriage with her cousin? Obviously, she can't tell him or her mother that she is a lesbian and Shizuku is actually her fiancé. He might never allow that. She decides to have her relationship with Shizuku remain a secret until further notice.

* * *

A few hours later, Eris is taking a walk in the streets of London. The thought of Shizuku forcing her to make a choice is still playing in her head. Heck, if she was able to make a choice, she would just pick Shizuku and be done with it. But because of her father's desire for her to be married with her older cousin has made it worse and couldn't decide whether or not to reject it.

"Shizuku . . ." she mumbles as she stops and looks up at the sky.

_WHAM!_

All of a sudden, someone runs into Eris, causing both of them to fall on the hard ground.

"Owwww . . ." Eris moans as she sits up, rubbing her head.

"Oh, I'm sorry, miss!" A man's voice cries as he holds out his hand. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she says. But as she looks up at the man while taking his hand, her eyes narrow at him. _He looks familiar, _she thinks.

The man has short brown hair and is wearing a gray jacket with a black shirt under it and camouflage pants. His eyes narrow as well as he seems to recognize her.

"Eris?"

"Kent?"

Then it hits her. The man who ran into her is really her older cousin, Kent Skyler! The brown haired young man smiles at her.

"Wow! You look . . . amazing!" He says, but then quickly shakes his head at his error. "I mean, it's great to see you."

The blonde smiles back at him. "It's nice seeing you, too."

Kent pulls her back up and wipes off the dust on her black dress. "I haven't seen you since . . . forever! What are you doing here?"

"I just graduated from college, so I decided to come here with my friend."

"Wait, you weren't in London either? Where did you go?"

"I went to Japan where I attended St. Michael's Girl's academy. That's where I met my best friend, Shizuku Kirisima."

Kent raises an eyebrow. "You got sent to an all girls' school?"

Eris just shrugs. "I have no idea why, but I heard that the place is very beautiful and cool, so I transferred there as a third year."

Kent slowly nods. "I see."

"So, what have you been up to? Did you do anything exciting that I should know about?"

"Well, I'm very good with technology, so I became a web designer when I attended college. From then on, I've been making loads of money with my web designing skills. It was really helpful to my family as well."

"Oh, that's awesome!" Eris exclaims. "Do you think you can make me one some time?"

"Sure thing," Kent replies. He then comes over and hugs her. "It's nice to see you again, cousin."

Her eyes widen from shock for a bit, but then quickly returns the hug. "Same here."

When both of them pull away, Kent and Eris stare at each other for a moment. It feels like minutes staring into each other's eyes like that. It makes Eris blush a little. Wait, what?

"Ah! I almost forgot!" she cries, quickly pulling away. "Uh, my father had called you, did he not?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, he did," Kent replies as he checks his phone.

"W-well, he really wants to meet you right now! So, toodles!" She quickly tries to push him toward the direction where her home is.

"Wait, Eris!" Kent begs. "Why don't we walk together?"

"No can do! My father is waiting for you and he'll get mad if you don't show up soon!" Eris yells, frantically waving her arms like a maniac.

"Are you sure you'll be alright? You coming along later?"

"Oh, yes! Now, run along!"

Kent gives her a weird look and them walks off. Once he's out of sight, Eris sighs heavily, while putting her hand on her chest. She can feel her heart beating super fast, which is not a good sign.

"Oh, no," she mutters. "Luckily I didn't go any further with him, otherwise, things would've gotten ugly. Why, though? Why did my heart beat when I was around him? My heart is only set on Shizuku's, so . . . why?" She knows if she falls for him, she'll never see her lover again. Fortunately, it was only temporary, so she decides to not do anything else with Kent, unless necessary.

"Alright, time to go home and hope Shizuku is okay."

* * *

Once she arrives at the house, she looks around for her fiancé or Kent. She fortunately finds him in the living room with both of her parents, just as she asked, which is really good. Now that he's kept busy, she has to find Shizuku. She looks into the kitchen,but doesn't see her there. Maybe she's up in her room, however Eris has no idea where her parents put her. She decides to look anyways. She runs upstairs and checks every room there is. After about 10 minutes, Eris finds that Shizuku is in neither of the two rooms close to the stairs, but she notices a closed door in front of her. Maybe Shizuku could be in there. She approaches the door and gives it a couple of knocks.

"Shizuku?" she says, "It's me, Eris. May I come in?"

No answer.

"Shizuku?"

Still no answer.

"Well, if you can hear me, I want you to know that everything will be okay. Kent is out of the way for now, so you and I can have our time together, you know? And here's the thing: if we can somehow get this arranged marriage behind us, we can finally be together again, just you and me." Eris starts to smile. "Remember what we promised each other? We promised that we would always be together, no matter what happens. I love you, Shizuku. I love you very much."

Suddenly, the door opens and the person she's speaking to isn't what she expected.

"I love you, too, cousin!" Kent teases. "Though I'm not the person who you would call 'Shizuku'."

"AHHHHHH!" Eris screams, practically jumping so far back in shock that she loses her balance and falls on her butt. "K-K-K-Kent!?"

"Hi, Eris," he says, still having a smile on his face. "Sorry I'm not the person who you are looking for, but I think your friend might be in your room." He points to the right, where Shizuku opens the door and exits the room that says "Eris's Room".

The blonde's mouth hangs wide open, as if she had never thought of it before. Kent chuckles at her reaction, which makes her frown at him.

"Just what is so darn funny?" She hisses.

"You are," Kent answers. "You haven't changed a bit, have you? You're still the same girl who's childish, and carefree all the time."

Eris smirks at him. "You haven't changed either. The same old guy who makes fun of me and always wants to do things his way."

"Hey, I do not!" he protests.

"Oh, yeah? Remember when you wanted us to play with the neighbor's dog, saying that it's harmless when it actually isn't?"

"It was an honest mistake," Kent says, shrugging.

"You were the one who dared me to touch it," Eris says. "Lucky for me, I ran away before I got bitten. Then I got you to touch it as revenge for doing something so ridiculous. Hehe!"

Kent nods in satisfaction while smiling. "Ah, very well played, cousin. I'm very impressed."

"Don't mention it," Eris says, waving her hand dismissively. "We were just kids after all."

"You said it!"

There is silence for about a minute. Eris and Kent look up at each other, but quickly turn away and try to find a way to change the topic.

"So . . ." Kent starts. "I heard you and Shizuku are really good friends."

"Yes, she is," Eris replies. "She and I are inseparable. We almost do everything together. She once taught me calligraphy when I went to her home one time."

"But there's something funny about it . . ."

Eris looks up at him, confused. "What's that, cousin?"

"Right through the door, I heard you express your love for Shizuku. That seemed very strange." Kent rubs his chin thoughtfully and suspiciously.

_Oh, fudge! _Eris shouts at herself mentally. _He's figured it out!_

Kent puts on his serious expression this time, shoves Eris into the wall and looks at her in the eyes.

"Uh, K-Kent . . ."

"Now I want _you_ to be honest with me: Eris, are you a lesbian?"

* * *

**A/N: Oh, my! What will happen next? Should Eris trust this guy to keep her secret? Stay tuned to find out! Yes, it took a lot to write this chapter as well, so I apologize if this is boring. **

**Feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review! ;)**


	5. Trust

**Chapter 5**

**Trust**

_"Now I want you to be honest with me: Eris, are you a lesbian?"_

It takes all of her strength not to tremble in front of her cousin, though she can feel herself shaking a bit.

"Uh . . . I . . ." Eris says, trying to think of what to say.

"I'm asking you," Kent says firmly. "Are you a lesbian or not?"

It is no use. "Yes . . ."

"I see. I wonder what your parents would think when they find out about this."

"No! Please, don't!" Eris begs as she grabs on to his chest. "You'll only make things worse between us!"

"Then why are you keeping this a secret? They might find out soon."

Eris looks down at the ground with a pained look in her eyes. "I . . . don't know if Father will allow it. Besides, he and Mom are probably not gonna want me around any longer if they find out I'm a lesbian. So that's why I'm keeping this a secret."

Kent rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm . . . okay. If you love Shizuku that much, I'll keep your secret. But you better be careful about slipping out some evidence, or they will surely find out."

"Don't worry. I got this. Thank you, Kent."

Kent smiles at his cousin. "No problem."

There is silence as the two stare at each other once more. It only lasted for about 30 seconds until Eris realizes that she's blushing again and quickly turns away. She has to be really careful when she's around him.

"Um . . . so, now what do we do?" the blonde asks.

"You want to introduce Shizuku to me?" Kent suggests. "We haven't met properly, so this might be a good time to do it."

Eris thinks for a moment. "Hmm . . . I think I'll confirm this to her myself before we do anything else. She seemed pretty upset when she heard about the arranged marriage."

"I understand. Well, I'll see you around, cousin."

"Same to you."

With a wink of an eye, Kent closes the door. Eris's mouth slowly forms into a smile, turns and walks away from his room. As she walks downstairs, she can feel her heart beating again, but only for a short moment. If this continues, she might actually fall for him for sure!

_Alright, no more messing around_! she thinks to herself. _I've got to find some way to make it up to her! But how?_

Once she's all the way downstairs, she notices her father walking by and quickly catches up to him.

"Father!" She calls.

"Oh, Eris," he says, smiling at her. "What's the matter?"

"Have you seen Shizuku? I've got to talk to her about something."

"I believe she's heading outside for a walk. She just needed to get used to whole environment anyway."

"Do you know where she's going?"

"No, I'm afraid not." Her father says sadly.

This makes her very worried. What if Shizuku gets herself lost and finds some dangerous gang or something? With that in mind, Eris thanks her fat her and quickly takes off to wherever Shizuku might be.

* * *

Eris reaches the busy streets, but couldn't really see much because of the huge crowd. She whips out her phone, dials Shizuku's number and waits for a reply. When it goes to voicemail, Eris tries another attempt, but ends up getting the same result. Now this makes her really worried. If Shizuku's not answering, she'll never know where she is.

"No," Eris says to herself. "I got into this mess and I need to fix it! Shizuku should't be too far from home, right?"

She dashes off to a clothing store, tries searching for her there, but is nowhere to be seen. She tries another store, but finds nothing. After searching about 5 stores and retaurants, Eris is unable to find Shizuku. She then decides to walk to the nearest park that's near town and look for her there. She knows this place because she and Kent used to go there.

Once she arrives at the park, Eris searches for her lover. She checks about everything in the park: the playground, benches, even out in the open. But so far, she found nothing.

"Mou~ This place is huge!" Eria groans. "How am I supposed to find one girl in one freaking very large city!?"

She's about to give up when she catches a glimpse of a black haired girl sitting along on a bench in front of a huge tree. Could that be Shizuku? Once Eris takes a few steps closer, she sighs in relief.

"Shizuku!" Eris happily calls.

The raven-haired girl looks up. "Oh. Hi, Erisu." Her expression seems really . . . sad. Eris's eyes is full of concern as she approaches her more and sits next to her.

"Are you alright?" The blonde asks.

"No," Shizuku replies as she looks away, trying not to cry in front of her. "I'm not alright."

"Shizuku, I'm sorry we had to go through this, but believe me, once this is over, everything will be back to normal."

The raven-haired girl just shakes her head. "How can I believe such a lie? I'm sure you'll fall for that Kent guy and gladly marry him! I saw the way you two were conversing with each other!"

"Eh?"

"That's right! When I came out of your room earlier, you were talking to him and having a good time. I was so fed up that I had to leave the house for a bit to cool down. But now that you're here, I guess I made a big mistake!"

Eris frowns at her. "Now hold on. First of all, I wasn't lying. Second, all Kent and I were talking about is my secret relationship with you and how we're gonna handle the whole arranged marriage thing. Plus, I think he really wants to meet you."

Shizuku continues to look away without saying a word. She seems to be taking the whole Kent thing a little too hard, but Eris is not going to give up that easily.

"Shizuku," she says. "Kent is a very nice man. He wouldn't do anything to harm you at all. He really wants to meet you." She notices that her lover is still not answering. "Shizuku?"

Small sniffling can be heard from her, which surprises the blonde.

"Shizuku?"

"I . . . just . . . I thought you loved me, Erisu. You would never, ever fall in love with anyone else and we promised each other that we would always be together."

"And I'm still keeping that promise," Eris says.

Shizuku shakes her head again. "Liar! I don't want to believe another one of you're far fetched tales just because you're in love with Kent instead of me!"

"Listen, I'm not in love with Kent! And if I did, I would've been all over him instead of you! If I was in love with him, I would've been there for him all the time! If I was in love with him, I would've gladly accepted this arranged marriage, even if he had proposed to me without Father's desire! If I was in love with him, I . . . I would definitely be happy!" Eris grabs her lover by the shoulders while wearing a serious expression. "But I'm none of those things, am I!? I'm in love with you now and I shall forever be! Besides, if I hadn't transferred to St. Michael' and met you, I would've still fell in love with guys other than Kent."

Shizuku chokes a sob as tears start pouring freely from her eyes. "E-Erisu . . ."

"I love you, Shizuku," Eris admits. "And I will always love you right until the day we die."

Just like that, Shizuku finally loses it and starts sobbing while burying herself on the blonde's chest. Eris looks down at her lover while hugging her tenderly, not caring if other people are staring or not.

After about a good 15 minutes, Shizuku slightly looks up at her lover while tears are still pouring from her eyes and speaks between sobs.

"D-Did you really m-mean all those things? Th-the things you s-said?" she asks.

Eris nods. "Yes. I would never lie to you."

"B-but I thought . . . you like him. You were really happy with that man."

"Nothing makes me happy other than being with you." The blonde gently kisses her on the forehead.

Shizuku slowly nods as she buries a little deeper into Eris's chest. "I . . . I feel the same way."

Eris gently strokes her hair to comfort her. "I'm sorry, Shizuku. I'm so sorry."

The raven-haired girl nods again. "I'm sorry, too, for yelling at you. It's just that . . . I was afraid. Afraid of losing the one I love since third year. I didn't . . . want that at all." Tears were falling again as she chokes a sob.

Eris nods and continues to listen to Shizuku's words.

"Like the time when I thought you left Japan for good, that hurt me so much that I cried like I was right now. That's how much I feel when you're around Kent."

Eris nods, remembering exactly what happened when they were still St. Michael's students. "But I was still there for you," she whispers while caressing her cheek. "I came to you're house to comfort you, just like I am right now, only we're outside in London."

Shizuku sniffles as she nods.

"So I won't leave your side anymore. Not ever."

"Will you promise to never leave me?" The raven-haired girl asks, looking up at her lover.

"Absolutely," the blode replies with a smile.

With that, the two lean in and share a heartwarming kiss.

* * *

**A/N: Another chapter finished! To be honest, it wasn't that hard to write and I heard that all couples get into fights as well. I felt like adding a little drama here since Eris has to make up with Shizuku. **

**By the way, thanks so much for the wonderful reviews, especially Unknown1314, who had reviewed my recent story, "Perfect Gift for Her". So, thanks again for being the first to review and I hope to hear some thoughts from you on this chapter. :D **

**Feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review. ;)**


	6. Secret Date

**Chapter 6**

**Secret Date**

**A/N: Hi, everyone. I'm glad everyone likes the story so far! By the way, thanks so much for the reviews and hope to get more soon. Enjoy!**

One morning, Eris and Kent walk up to a window at a clothing store. She stares at a pink dress that's on sale today and thinks about how Shizuku would look on her. She then passes by a local restaurant that she's never seen before and takes a gander at it. The restaurant seems to be fancy, has great food and service in there. Eris smiles at this as an idea pops in her head. Kent takes notice of her happy expression.

"What's on your mind, cousin?" he asks.

"Well . . . I want to take Shizuku to that place someday," the blonde replies, continuing to have her eyes on the restaurant. "She will love it once she experiences it."

Kent chuckles. "Why don't you take her there tonight? I mean, Shizuku means so much to you, right?"

"I guess." Since she had her argument with Shizuku a week ago, Eris wants to make it up to her the best she could and this fancy restaurant should be suitable. "But . . . what about my parents?"

"Don't worry," Kent says, smiling. "I've got it all planned out. I can have them have a game night together with me while you go on your secret date with Shizuku. That should work out, right?"

"A secret date?"

"Sure. You are keeping your relationship a secret, so why not have a secret date every now and then? Sound good?"

Eris brightens. "That's a great idea! Thanks, Kent!" She quickly gives him a hug. "You know, you always have great ideas, just like when we were kids. Whenever I had a problem, you come right in and help me out."

Kent chuckles. "Why, thank you, cousin!"

Eris is happy that she got advice from her cousin, so now all she needs to do is surprise Shizuku and enjoy their wonderful date together. With that being taken care of, she and Kent continue walking together in the streets.

"Eris," Kent says, a little while after.

"Yes?" the blonde looks up at him.

"When did you and Shizuku get together? I'm just curious because you two seem to be very close."

Eris thinks about it for a moment until she pops her head back up. "Well, I think it was a few days after I transferred. I was doing some things after school when I heard Shizuku crying for some reason, so I came by to ask her what's wrong. She wouldn't tell me anything, but is on the verge of crying again. I felt so bad for her that I wanted to do something to comfort her. So, without thinking, I kissed her. She was so shocked and confused by my action that she wanted some time to think this through. I, however, wanted to tell her why I kissed her so . . . impulsively, or so what Shizuku told me. I was wondering myself why I kissed her, but during that time I finally realized I was in love with her. So, out of the blue, I confessed my love to her. She seemed to be surprised by that as well and needed to think this through, too. Later on, she mustered up the courage to return her feelings back to me. Then, both of us were officially a couple."

Kent's eyes widen in amazement as he hears her story. "Wow! I had no idea that you fell in love with her like that."

"Well, I guess you can say that it was love at first sight," Eris says, shrugging. "When I came in the classroom and introduced myself, my eyes gazed on Shizuku. My heart was beating when I first saw her and when the teacher offered her to give a tour, I was filled with joy. I got to be with her on my first day and be her classmate."

"I see. Shizuku seems like a very nice girl."

"She is. One time, when I visited her at her house, she taught me how to draw calligraphy. She even assisted me on it by helping me draw out some shapes by taking my wrist and lead my hand to where it's supposed to go. And when I looked over my shoulder, there was a blush on her face. I was very happy that she did that for me and I know that she's happy as well."

Kent smiles. "That's a very nice story, cousin. You and Shizuku are truly meant to be."

Eris smiles back, but it soon fades. "Yes . . . but I don't know what to do about our arranged marriage. What will I tell my parents?"

"I'm afraid I don't have the answer yet, but if we can somehow manage it, we'll be able to solve it. Don't worry. We'll figure it out soon."

Eris nods as she looks at the ground. She hopes she and Shizuku will remain together as a couple. Will Kent be able to help her out until then?

* * *

That afternoon, after a few hours of shopping, Eris and Kent come back home. Her parents greet them and Eris excuses herself from them and walks up to her room, hoping Shizuku will be in there. When she opens the door, Shizuku is indeed in there, sitting on her bed, deep in thought.

"Shizuku~!" Eris says happily. "I'm back!"

The raven haired girl looks up and smiles. "Oh, hello." She notices the three bags the blonde is carrying. "What do you have there, Erisu?"

"Why, it's your new clothes!" Eris replies.

"What for?"

"Hehe! It's my own little secret!"

"Huh!? But why?"

"Because it's fun, silly! Besides, I can't have my Shizuku looking all depressed all day! I want her to smile, just like you used to when we were a couple."

This makes Shizuku blush, but turns away to hide it. "W-what are you saying? I'm not depressed."

"Oh, but you are. Here, let me give you something to cheer you up." She silently closes the door, pushes Shizuku on the bed and presses her lips against hers.

"W-wait, Erisu! Mmph!" Shizuku tries to resist, but Eris's grip is too strong. The blonde continues to kiss her until she pulls away, smiling.

"Like my treat?" she teases.

Shizuku frowns and turns away. "Idiot. You could have suffocated me."

"Oh, but I didn't. I told you I wanted to cheer you up. Hehe!"

"You didn't have to do it like that! Mou~ Sometimes, you can be so annoying!"

Eris smirks. "Am I?"

"Yes, you are!"

"Hehe!"

Shizuku sighs as she sits up on the bed. Her expression is still the same as she was earlier. Eris sits up as well and looks at her lover in concern.

"Hey," she says, gently. "What's wrong?"

Shizuku blushes, but slightly turns away. "N-nothing's wrong."

"Just now, you were looking away. I can tell that something is wrong."

"M-maybe you're imagining things."

"Shizuku . . ."

The raven-haired girl hesitates as she blushes even more. She's only showing concern for her, but Shizuku refuses to tell her, or at least she doesn't want to admit it. Eris is trying to cheer her up, which makes Shizuku a bit happy that she still cares. But with her playfully keeping secrets makes her even more curious.

As Eris keeps on showing eyes of concern, Shizuku sighs heavily and tells her while still looking away, "It would be better if you told me sooner than later."

"Oh . . ." Eris suddenly gets the picture and smiles. "I see. But I'll just give you a couple of hints since the real surprise is still a secret." She walks over, grabs the bag of clothing she had placed and snatches out a fancy red dress.

Shizuku's eyes widen in amazement. "E-Erisu . . . th-that's . . ."

"Mm-hmm, " Eris nods. "This is for you to wear." She snatches out another one that's colored purple. "I'm going to be wearing this."

"Wait, the two fancy dresses . . . Don't tell me . . ."

Eris happily winks at her. "You got it. I'm taking you on a lovely date tonight."

"Ah . . . b-but wouldn't your parents . . ."

"That's why we're going on a secret date. Kent will keep them busy by having a game night with them and hopefully by one hour, we should be able to make it back in time."

Shizuku smiles. "Thank you, Erisu. I . . . I don't know what to say."

"How about this as a 'You're welcome' from me." Eris immediately kisses her on the cheek, which makes Shizuku blush like crazy. "Hehe! I'm glad we're having our secret date together in London. Wouldn't you agree, Shizuku?"

"Y-yes," she says, softly. She's not really sure how the date would go, but is a bit happy that Eris would do that for her.

* * *

"You ready, Shizuku?"

"Just about. Give me a second to finish." Shizuku spins around once more at her reflection in the mirror to make sure her dress fits her nicely. She smiles at her new outfit as she turns to her lover. "Okay. Now I'm ready."

"Goodie," Eris says as she silently closes her bedroom door and locks it.

"Wait, why are you locking your door? Aren't we supposed to go out from the entrance?"

"Nah, that would be too obvious." She grabs some rope from her bag and winks at her. "That's why we're going out the window!"

"EEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHH!?" Shizuku never expected this as part of their plan. "W-we're gonna hurt ourselves if we're not careful!"

"Not to worry! As long as we go very slowly, we'll be just fine." She lets the rope lose out the window and ties the other end onto the pointy edge of the bed.

Shizuku can't help but worry about this. "Um . . . are you sure this is safe? Will it be able to hold your weight?"

"Of course! We just need to go one at a time and it should be all good."

"I hope so."

Eris carefully slips out her right leg from the window, grabs hold of the rope and lifts her other leg over the edge. From there, she carefully climbs done the rope without making a sound until she gets to the bottom. Shizuku watches in worry, for she knows that they'll get caught. When she sees the rope shake, in which Eris is doing when she made it to the bottom, it signals Shizuku to climb down. She carefully does what Eris did and grabs hold of the rope. She slowly climbs down, trying very hard not to look directly on the ground.

"That's it!" Eris whispers loudly. "Just a few more!"

Shizuku trembles as she is halfway down the building. She could feel her hands getting very sweaty from the nervousness, which is making her slip.

"Ah!" She yelps as she tries to regain her balance.

"Be careful, Shizuku!"

"This is insane! How in the heck am I supposed to-"

_SLIP!_

_"_Shizuku!" Eris cries.

Shizuku's foot skips on some wet brick, causing her to lose her balance even more. Just then, she lets go of the rope and is about to fall to her death! Eris gasps and quickly stretches out her arms to catch her. It isn't long before Shizuku falls straight into Eris's arms and both of them tumble to the ground. They breath heavily from the experience and look up at each other.

"Are you alright, Shizuku?" Eris asks with eyes full of worry.

"Y-yes," the raven-haired girl replies while trembling. "I-I'm fine."

The blonde quickly hugs her. "I'm glad. Thank goodness you're okay."

"Erisu . . ."

Though it is tempting to stay like this for however long they want it to be, they're on a time limit and Eris's parents are gonna get suspicious if they are out there too long. So with that in mind, Eris lets go of her lover and the two quickly head out.

* * *

**Meanwhile:**

"Wow, Kent!" Akito says. "This is amazing. Having out nephew having a game night together with us."

"Hey," Harriet says. "We should have Eris and Shizuku join!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kent says. "But they are sort of busy right now. They are making bracelets together in her room upstairs." He glances up to notice Eris's door is closed with the light on. He secretly nods and makes sure to keep her parents busy at all costs.

"I see," Harriet says. "It's probably a girl thing."

"Yeah," Akito replies. "We'll just leave them be since they need their privacy."

"Excellent!" Kent says as he stands up. "So, what shall we play first?"

* * *

"Here it is, Shizuku," Eris says as she points to a fancy restaurant in front of them.

"Wow!" Shizuku explains as her eyes widen in amazement. "This . . . is beautiful." She is totally speechless.

It is just like any other fancy restaurant. It has maroon colored flooring, candles on each table and there's even a wonderful pianist playing in the corner of the restaurant. The music is soothing to Shizuku's ears. When they come across the man in the podium, they ask him for a table for two. He then leads them to a table next to a wall and places their menus on it.

"Your server will be here shortly," the man says.

Both of them thank him as he smiles and leaves. Eris then turns to her lover.

"Well," she says. "What do you think of my surprise?"

"Erisu . . . I can't believe you did this for me! I am very surprised indeed!"

"Hehe! I'm glad you like it."

"But . . . why did you do this?"

Eris glances at the floor with her smile fading a little. "I just wanted to make up for what I did a week ago, as an apology for hurting your feelings."

"Oh, Erisu . . ." Shizuku is touched by Eris's words. Maybe Eris isn't lying after all and is doing all this just for them to get closer again.

"So . . . will you forgive me, Shizuku?" Eris asks.

"Of course, Erisu. I'm sorry for doubting you all this time."

"Thanks." Eris is happy now. She and her lover are finally getting back to the way things were and if this keeps up, they will end up together forever.

So the two pick up their menus and try to decide what to order.

* * *

**At Eris's House:**

Kent and Eris's parents were playing a fun game of Charades for about 15 minutes now and none of them could guess what Kent is trying to play out. Soon, the tree of them get bored and sit on the couch for a bit.

"What should we play next?" Harriet asks.

"How about a game of chess?" Kent suggests.

"Oh, I'm good at chess!" Akito says, standing up.

"Great, let me get the chess set right now." Kent gets up from the couch, fetches the chess set from the cabinet by the TV and places it on the table in front of them. Harriet just sits back and happily watches the two guys trying to beat each other in chess.

"Oh, while they are doing that," Harriet says to herself. "I will make some dinner for all of us. I'll make sure to save the rest for Eris and Shizuku. They will probably going to love it."

She gets up from the couch and proceeds to the kitchen when a picture on a small table by the wall catches her eye. She takes a closer look at it and realizes that it's a picture of Eris and Kent when they were little. Kent had a softball in his hand while Eris had a baseball mitt in her hand. Harriet smiles at the picture as she remembers taking it at a park one time when Kent and Eris were playing catch together. Plus, Kent was starting baseball at the time, but then probably decided to quit after he moved to a new town.

"Time does sure fly by," Harriet whispers as she giggles and then leaves to cook dinner.

* * *

**At the restaurant:**

Eris and Shizuku's food was served a few minutes ago and they are already enjoying it, especially Shizuku. She had never eaten this kind of food in her life and never knew European food can taste this good.

"How's your steak and potatoes?" Eris asks as she scoops up some noodles from her plate of spaghetti and meatballs with tomato sauce.

"It tastes . . . wonderful!" Shizuku exclaims. "Erisu, the food is fantastic here!"

The blonde giggles. "I'm glad you're enjoying it."

The two take a few more bites until Eris stops for a brief moment and looks at her lover. An idea pops in her head as she picks up a chunk of noodles and stares at it for a bit. It might be tempting to do this out in a restaurant, but she can't help herself. So she holds out her fork full of noodles neatly twisted into it in front of Shizuku.

"Hm? What are you doing?" she asks while raising an eyebrow.

"I want you to try my spaghetti," Eris replies with a smile.

It is at that moment that Shizuku knows what Eris is planning to do. "W-wait!" She whispers loudly while looking around the restaurant. "Y-you can't be serious!"

Eris just smirks. "Hehe!"

"Erisu, this is a restaurant! We can't do it here! This is insane!"

"Aw, Shizuku. One indirect kiss won't hurt, would it? Then after that, you can do the same with your steak."

Shizuku swallows hard as she blushes bright red from embarrassment. Seeing that she has no choice, she opens her mouth, allowing Eris to feed the spaghetti to her. Shizuku closes her eyes with pleasure, for the pasta tastes good. She then cuts up a square shaped steak and feeds that to Eris. The blonde happily eats it. The two softly laugh as they feed each other a couple more bites if their food.

After about 15 minutes, they finish their food and the server comes to take their plates away. Eris looks at her lover, expecting a smile from her. But she notices a sad expression in her face, Could she not like the date that much?

"What's wrong, Shizuku? Are you okay?"

"Sort of. I was just . . . thing about your arranged marriage with Kent. Do you really think it will happen?"

Eris shrugs. "For all I know, it may happen."

"Oh . . . " This leaves Shizuku depressed.

"But, like I said before, once we work things out, I'm sure the two of us will remain together."

"I hope so. I don't want to lose you, Erisu."

Eris nods in agreement. "Neither do I."

"Then . . . when will it be the right time to come out to your parents? I mean, you can't keep this a secret forever." Shizuku seems very serious when she said that.

Eris hesitates for a moment and thinks about it. "It depends. I just feel afraid that Father or Mom will not accept the fact that I'm a lesbian. It could cost us our relationship and I don't want that."

Shizuku nods. "Me neither. But you'd better find someway to come out because you remaining hiding is just not gonna cut it."

Eris also nods, but with understanding. Shizuku's got a point there. She can't just remain being big coward in front of not only her lover, but to her family as well. She still hasn't figured it out yet, but once the time comes, she may be able to confess to her parents.

"You're right, Shizuku," the blonde says. "I'll do my best."

Shizuku smiles at her lover as she gives a soft giggle.

"Now then, shall we have desert?" Eris says, picking up a desert menu.

"Yes, I would like that." Shizuku replies.

* * *

**At Eris's House:**

"Ah, that was good dinner," Kent says as he rubs his tummy with a smile. "Thanks, Aunt Harriet. Your cooked chicken and rice with gravy is always the best."

"You're welcome," Harriet replies. "I always wanted to make it since I used to when you and Eris were little. Both of you would always enjoy my cooking whenever you come over to visit. And you still are, even at this age."

Kent chuckles. "Well, both of us had some good times together. It was fun playing with Eris a long time ago."

"Now the two of you are soon going to be married!" Akito says, excitedly. "How fun would that be!?"

Kent slowly nods and looks away for a bit. "Um, can you please excuse me for a bit?"

"Sure, no problem," Harriet says as she takes the last bite of her rice and gravy. "But hurry back. We want to talk more about your early childhood!"

Kent nods as he gets up from his chair and runs off to where Akito and Harriet can't see him and whips out his phone to text his cousin.

**"Are you finished with the date yet? It's been an hour and 15 minutes."**

In less than a minute, Kent immediately receives a text back.

**"We're almost done. We just got our check and we're heading out right now."**

Kent smiles at this and texts his cousin back.

**"Good. See you at home, cousin. :)"**

He couldn't wait to listen to what Eris has to say about their date. It seemed like they had a pretty good time, to him at least. The only thing he's worried about is her parents getting suspicious about Eris being gone for such a long time. He hopes that none of them will bring it up and that Eris will make it back in time.

* * *

**Meanwhile:**

A little while later, Eris and Shizuku finally exit the restaurant with both their bellies full from the wonderful meal they consumed. Eris looks at her lover and smiles, in which Shizuku does the same.

"Thank you so much for taking me to this place," she says. "That was the best date I've ever gone to."

"You're very welcome," Eris says with a smile.

The two stay silent for at least a minute until Eris speaks up.

"Um, Shizuku . . ."

"Yes, Erisu?"

"I . . . have one last thing to give you for our date tonight." Eris pulls out a small rectangular box from her bag and presents it to her lover. "I . . . sort of bought this for you and I was hoping you'd like it."

Shizuku looks at her lover in astonishment. Is Eris feeling . . . nervous? That's rare for her to be like that. But that's probably normal for everyone when they try to impress their lovers. She looks down at the box and opens it, revealing a pink pearl necklace. Shizuku gasps with her eyes wide.

"E-Erisu!" She says. "Th-that's . . ."

"Yes," Eris replies with a slight blush on her face. "It's sort of like an apology gift just for you. And look: I even got one of the store's employees to write this" She shows her lover the big pearl hanging down from the center that reads: **"My Beloved Shizuku: Forever in My Heart. From Eris".**

Shizuku smiles as she is in tears of happiness. "Oh, Erisu! Thank you! Than you very much!"

Eris smiles as well as she takes the necklace. "Shizuku, I want you to know that with this necklace, you'll always be in my heart and that nothing will tear us apart." She gently puts the necklace on her.

Shizuku examines it a little before givjng her fiancé a smile.

"Well, we should probably head back to your home before your parents find out your gone."

"Good idea."

With that, the two quickly leave the restaurant and hurriedly dash towards the spot where they climbed the rope down and proceeded to climb back up. It was sort of difficult to manage, but they got through it okay. Once they are inside, Eris quickly texts her cousin about her arrival while Shizuku quickly unties the rope from the edge of the bed and throws it away in the closet. Both of them quickly change their clothes into nightgowns and just sits there, pretending to put the last set of beads away when the they suddenly hear a knock on the door.

"Yes?" Eris says.

"Hey. It's your father. May I come in?"

"Sure, just give me a second." Eris gets up and unlocks the door. "Hi, Father."

"Hey, Eris," Akito says. "I just came up here to check up on you two. Are you alright?"

"Yes," Shizuku replies. " We're just finished cleaning up here." She puts some beads in a plastic bag.

"Okay," Akito says. "I'm glad you two had fun. I was afraid that you might get bored or something since we've been spending our time with Kent for the past hour and a half."

"No, we were okay," Eris says, now sitting on her bed. "You don't need to worry."

Akito nods as he slightly closes the door. "Alright, well, it's getting late, so get to bed, two."

"Yes, Father," Eris says. "Good night."

"Good night, Mr. Shitogi," Shizuku says.

"Good night, girls." With that he closes the door.

After about a minute, the two lovers look at each other and smile. They know that they will never forget their amazing date in London, ever.

* * *

**A/N: Whew! That took like two days to write this super long chapter! And I apologize for the stupid little short transitions and for this chapter to be a little boring. **

**Once again, thanks so much for the reviews. It has helped me write a little more as I go. And some of you were wondering about Eris's relationship with Kent. I still quite haven't figured it out yet, but it will come to me soon. **

**In fact, I need some ideas for my next chapter. As I was re-reading my story, I'm thinking I'm going a**** little too easy on it a bit. So if you guys can give me some suggestions, that will be marvelous. :)**

**Oh, and I'll be answering to some of your reviews from now on, starting right now! :D I'm sure some of you would like to see that as well. I'll try my best at answering them, so it may give me some time to think.**

**So, here are the answers to last chapter's reviews:**

**Roundabout: **_I know, right? I wanted Eris to let Shizuku know how much she loves and cares about Shizuku. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far._

**_Unknown1314:_**_ Your review made a lot of sense and it got me thinking for a bit. Eris coming out of the closet is a great metaphor for her fear of whether or not she's gonna be disowned or not if they find out she's a lesbian._

**Well, that's all I got for now. I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter. ;)**


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